Difference between Razer Kraken/Kraken Pro with Razer Surround software and Kraken 7.1

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goupoujo

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What is the difference between a razer headset (e.g Kraken) with Razer Surround software and a Kraken 7.1 that normally has a surround sound ?
Can this headset sound as well as Kraken 7.1 ?
I have a Realtek HD Sound Card .

There are some threads about this , but none of them have got a good answer from users .

TNX
 
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TechHelpNO


I can give you the same answer as i answered to the thread you posted on :)
Go with the 7.1 because then you get hardware surround which is always better than software surround and you will get a better quality and better quality surround :)
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TechHelpNO

TechHelpNO

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I can give you the same answer as i answered to the thread you posted on :)
Go with the 7.1 because then you get hardware surround which is always better than software surround and you will get a better quality and better quality surround :)
 
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TechHelpNO

TechHelpNO

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I think that the motherboard will handle all the things with noise you can also download the software from Razer to get an even better experience :)
 
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ihaveapc

ihaveapc

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Let's clear some things for you
Usb headsets have nothing to do with your soundcard as they have a built-in one.
There is no such thing as hardware surround past WINDOWS XP all of them are emulated nowadays.
Kraken 7.1 has surround emulation built in the sound processor of the headset(the dolby headset iirc which is poor for positional audio on the z axis)
Thus the 7.1 will be better for surround sound than a razer surround enabled headset.
Still the surround implementation is poor compared to others.

Oh and if you're in the process of bying any of these two let me give you a tip:
Headsets are overpriced ,over-marketed and overhyped
 
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goupoujo

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Thanks , Awesome

But I have another question !
Can you disable 3D surround sound in Kraken 7.1 and change it to a stereo headset ?!
I Thought it can't be turned off !

Also , Do you like surround sound for music ? Is it good ?
 
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goupoujo

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But I know some people who said that it is great for music too .
Even a user said when I am listening to the music , I feel that I'm hearing the music from around !
 
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Sound4gamerz

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Hi Goupoujo,

Yes you can turn on and off Razer Surround from the Mixer tab in Razer's Surround version of Kraken 7.1.

1. Launch an audio application
2. open razer surround
3. go to the mixer tab
4. set your application as 7.1 if you want Razer Surround to be turned on
5. set your application as 2.0 if you want Razer Surround to be turned off

Further more if you want another type of surround dedicated to music:

1. go to the mixer tab set your application as 2.0
2. go to the audio tab and turn on stereo widenning

Thus, you will benefit of a different Surround processing that is truely dedicated to stereo contents such as music.

Please let us know if you'd like a video tutorial on that ?

Audio4Gamers
A4G
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpLFt-NCMD-SDSmKHgDlcQA
 
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Sound4gamerz

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Hi,

Kraken 7.1 does not have such IIRC Dolby embedded (Have you seen any Dolby logo anywhere on the box ?) and it does not have any sound processor, such as the Megalodon DSP for isntance, for the playback audio stream.:no: The processing is full software and done by Razer Surround. Kraken 7.1 does only have a USB audio codec.

Question: Seriously...:sarcastic: do you own a Kraken 7.1 ?

A4G



 
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goupoujo

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Thanks Sound4gamerz for full details .

You wanna say Kraken 7.1 doesn't have a Hardware Surround and it's all Software Surround , don't you ?!
But "TechHelpNO" said that Kraken 7.1 has Hardware Surround !
If not , so really what is the difference between Kraken 7.1 and Kraken/Kraken Pro with Razer Surround Software ?!!! Just USB and microphone ?
The title of the thread ! :D

You said you're going to upload a video about the surround on a basic stereo headphone too .(it'll be very good if it be Kraken)
I'm waiting for it ...
But I think it's very good to hear the difference between them in 1 video .

Thanks in advance :)
 
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ihaveapc

ihaveapc

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If the headset didn't have it's own sound card/processor then it would only connect with a green 3.5 jack and not usb. It would need a discrete sound card to work such as the motherboard's or a pci one.
 
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Sound4gamerz

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Hi,

The difference with Kraken 7.1 is that you can access a full software package with different audio settings (BassBoost, Voice Clarity, AutoVolume, Noise Reduction, Calibration saved in the cloud and so on) directly from Razer Surround PRO and for FREE.
If you go for the Kraken Pro you can not access the full package unless you pay for it. You will only have the Virtual Surround and not all the other audio settings.

A4G



 
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Sound4gamerz

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A USB headset uses the USB Audio which is a standard layer of USB 1.0. This layer converts digital audio from the motherboard into USB audio. Thus, USB audio is converted to digital again and to an analog signal through the headphone DAC.

[motherboard side DigitalAudio>USBaudio] > [headphone side USBAudio>DigitalAudio>AnalogAudio]

The USB audio chip does not process anything (at least since Win Vista but who cares about XP ?)

Since Vista Microsoft has designed a standard called APO (Audio Processing Object). APOs are host in the windows audio service, meaning in the OS. It allows Dolby, Razer, Creative and others to do their processing in the OS using a limited CPU charge (almost unnoticeable nowadays) and to output the processed stream on the USB audio device.
Only USB headsets featured with a DSP dongle does not use APOs. The Kraken 7.1 only has a USB chip contrary to the Megalodon for instance...

Of course audio brands prefer to claim that their hardware does everything because they have built there brand name on hardware quality rather than software... + gamers does not rely on software...

We would be very interested if you could prove that the Kraken 7.1 virtual surround processing is done by the headset chip...

A4G



 
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Sound4gamerz

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Why would Razer ask to download Synapse when plugin-in the Kraken 7.1 for the first time if the processing would be done by the headset it self...:pt1cable:



 
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ihaveapc

ihaveapc

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Just like any creative sound card needs drivers (synapse is also a driver) for the cmss-3d[creative's surround solution] to work. The processing is always done on the sound card.
What I'm saying is that the surround solution is some kind of "native" to the headset and not just windows software like X headset+Razer surround
 
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goupoujo

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Thanks

So there is no Hardware Surround , all is done by Software .
It means that the quality of the sound depends on my sound card (for 3.5mm jack Headsets like Kraken) or motherboard (for USB Headsets like Kraken 7.1) . Alright ?
Maybe Kraken can sound better than Kraken 7.1 ?! :D
But how can I know which one is better and more powerful ? My sound card or motherboard ?
 
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LMFabio

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nope! the only headset with hardware surround now on the market is Razer Tiamat. The others are VIRTUAL 7.1 surround!
 
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LMFabio

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The kraken 7.1 has already a "sound card" inside! same thing for others virtual 7.1 surround headset with USB.
 
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